IWM 14-18 NOW Legacy Fund Artist Announced
Artist Announced
The Harris is delighted to announce the artist selected for its highly anticipated commission supported by the IWM 14-18 NOW Legacy Fund. Renowned Egyptian artist Khaled Hafez will be the creative force behind the new artwork set feature in The Harris upon its reopening in 2025. This collaboration marks an exciting milestone in The Harris’ ongoing commitment to engaging audiences with thought-provoking art that explores the intersection of history, culture, and identity.
Read articles about the the commission:
The Harris announced as a partner for Imperial War Museums’ £2.5m art commissioning programme
The Harris’ Artist Commission
In 1908, The Harris commissioned artist John Somerscales to create one of the most unique features of the building, the Egyptian Balcony. A series of painted murals inspired by a research trip to Egypt, which includes key historical sites and interpretations of ancient tomb paintings – the organisations first art commission and arguably its most significant to date.
Remarkably, the relationship between Preston and Egypt has been little explored, despite representations of this country being at the very heart of the building. A new display in 2025 will consider why there are Egyptian artefacts in the collection, the motivations behind the creation of the Egyptian Balcony, and Egypt as a crucial supplier of cotton to Lancashire’s textile mills. Considering the British Empire, its interests in Egypt and Britain’s occupation of Egypt until the 1950s.
The IWM 14-18 NOW Legacy Fund will support The Harris to commission Khaled Hafez, an artist of Egyptian heritage, to work with local communities to explore these shared histories of conflict and the connections that exist between Preston and Egypt – creating a new artwork that will go on display in 2025 and become part of the museum’s permanent collection.
